The act removes the term "homosexuality" from the definition of sexual conduct in the sexually explicit materials harmful to children part of the "Colorado Criminal Code". (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the strategic outdoor recreation management and infrastructure cash fund (infrastructure cash fund), requires a specified percentage of lottery fund money to be distributed to the infrastructure cash fund in state fiscal years when available lottery fund money exceeds $20 million, and continuously appropriates the money in the cash fund to the division of parks and wildlife for specified outdoor recreation and management purposes. The act also creates the outdoor recreation economic development cash fund (development cash fund); requires a specified amount and, in state fiscal years when available lottery fund money exceeds $20 million, an additional specified percentage, of lottery fund money to be distributed to the development cash fund; subject to annual appropriation, allows the outdoor recreation industry office to spend money from the development fund; and requires the following transfers to be made to the development cash fund on June 30, 2025: $176,830 from the damage prevention fund; $83,839 from the dispute resolution fund; $6,784 from the youthful offender system surcharge fund; $118,741 from the professional development center cash fund; $21,278 from the immunization fund; $83,354 from the family support services fund; $5,348 from the department of military and veterans affairs fund; $9,648 from the publications fund; $85,901 from the tax lien certification fund; $4,413 from the wholesale and distributing subcontractor license fund; $5,963 from the moving outreach fund; and $121,389 from the disabled parking education and enforcement fund. Law in effect before the passage of the act distributed, to the extent available, the first $3 million of the lottery fund to the outdoor equity fund, the next $3 million to the public school capital construction assistance fund, and any remaining money as follows: 25% to the wildlife cash fund; 25% to the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund; and 50% to the public school capital construction assistance fund. For the 2024-25 state fiscal year and each state fiscal year thereafter, the act redistributes, to the extent available, the first $4 million of the lottery fund to the outdoor equity fund, the next $3 million to the public school capital construction assistance fund, the next $750,000 to the development cash fund, and any remaining money as follows: If the total amount of lottery fund money available is $20 million or less: 50% to the public school capital construction assistance fund; 20% to the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund; 20% to the wildlife cash fund; and 10% to the outdoor equity fund; or If the total amount of lottery fund money available is more than $20 million: 50% to the public school capital construction assistance fund; 15% to the parks and outdoor recreation cash fund; 15% to the wildlife cash fund; 10% to the outdoor equity fund; 5% to the development cash fund; and 5% to the infrastructure cash fund. For state fiscal year 2025-26, the act appropriates $723,488 from the development cash fund to the office of economic development for use by the outdoor recreation industry office. If not fully expended in state fiscal year 2025-26, the appropriation remains available for expenditure for state fiscal years 2026-27 and 2027-28. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act creates the work-based learning consortium pilot program (pilot program) in the department of higher education (department). The purpose of the 3-year pilot program is to: Demonstrate the value of work-based learning in postsecondary curricula by studying the impact of industry-sponsored projects on course objectives and learning outcomes; Promote the adoption of work-based learning in higher education by working with faculty at institutions of higher education (institutions) that participate in the pilot program (participating institutions) to embed project-based learning opportunities into credit-bearing programs; Provide broader access to collegiate work-based learning for students; Measure the impact of work-based learning on participating students; and Learn how institutions can increase the value of postsecondary education through career exposure and preparedness. Pending the receipt of sufficient funds, the department shall convene a consortium (consortium) of representatives from participating institutions, the commission on higher education (commission), the department of labor and employment, the department of education, and a subject matter expert with experience implementing work-based learning. The consortium shall: Work with each participating institution's faculty to embed industry-sponsored projects in course curriculum that meet the work-based learning quality standards; Work with the department to determine the impact of industry-sponsored projects; Work with a third-party platform to connect faculty from participating institutions to employers for the purpose of developing high-quality, project-based learning opportunities for classroom instruction; Advise the commission on strategies to improve student access to high-quality, work-based learning opportunities for students based on participating faculty members' experience embedding industry-sponsored projects into curriculum; Develop best practices for institutions to expand access to work-based learning in the classroom through industry-sponsored projects; and Develop findings and recommendations. Subject to available appropriations, at the end of the pilot program, the act requires the consortium to complete and submit a report to the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or their successor committees. The report must include: A description of the consortium's findings and recommendations; Details on the consortium's impacts on participating institutions and the effects of creating additional work-based learning activities on students, faculty, and employers; and Recommendations for statutory changes, financial resources, department policy changes, and policy changes in institutions that are necessary to improve successful work-based learning opportunities for students in institutions. The department may seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources for the pilot program. The department shall transmit all gifts, grants, or donations to the state treasurer, who shall credit the money to the higher education work-based learning consortium fund (fund). If, by June 30, 2028, the money in the fund has never reached or exceeded $2 million dollars, the state treasurer shall return each grantor's or donor's gift, grant, or donation. On or before November 1, 2026, the commission shall recommend a list of terms used by institutions related to work-based learning to the Colorado workforce development council for inclusion in the talent development glossary (glossary). The purpose of the list of terms is to: Augment the glossary so that collegiate work-based learning activities are accurately reflected in statewide efforts to promote work-based learning; and Demonstrate to institutions relevant opportunities to participate in statewide efforts to promote work-based learning. On or before July 1, 2026, the commission shall work with institutions, the Colorado workforce development council, the department of education, the consortium, nonprofit organizations, industry associations, and businesses to develop recommendations on how to best embed work-based learning opportunities into current degree pathways. On or before December 31, 2026, the department shall work with institutions to identify which work-based learning activities are measurable and how to best report work-based learning activities. Institutions that are eligible for the work-study program may use work-study program money to cover the costs of work-based learning credits for students who are required to complete credit-bearing work-based learning requirements to graduate from an institution. The office of economic development (office) administers the universal high school scholarship program (program). The act allows the office to spend unexpended or unencumbered money appropriated in the 2023-24 state fiscal year through the 2025-26 state fiscal year without further appropriation. The act requires that expenditures for the administrative costs of the program not exceed $1.5 million. The act extends the date for the state treasurer to transfer all unexpended and unencumbered money in the universal high school scholarship cash fund from December 30, 2026, to June 30, 2027. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The department of health care policy and financing (department) received federal authorization to provide coverage for health-related social needs and to provide reentry services to justice-involved individuals through the medicaid program. The act creates 2 cash funds, one for health-related social needs and one for reentry services for justice-involved individuals. The act requires the state treasurer to transfer the savings of state money realized from each federal authorization to the respective cash fund. Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, the department may expend money from the funds to provide health-related social needs or reentry services to justice-involved individuals. The department is required to develop a workforce to provide peer support services in order to comply with the terms of the federal authorization for health-related social needs. The department is authorized, subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, to spend money from the affordable housing support fund for services authorized by the federal authorization to provide coverage for health-related social needs. The act makes and reduces appropriations from the general fund, and from reappropriated funds, to the department, the department of corrections, the department of human services, and the department of local affairs. The act appropriates money from the affordable housing support fund to the department for medical and long-term care services for medicaid-eligible individuals and reduces the appropriation from the affordable housing support fund to the department of local affairs. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act requires that, for health insurance policies providing maternity coverage, policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, must include prenatal care coverage without cost sharing for up to 3 office visits. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act implements the recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies in its 2024 sunset review of the workers' compensation accreditation of health-care providers program (program), including extending the program for 11 years to September 1, 2036, and authorizing any health-care professional regulated by the division of professions and occupations and listed in the utilization standards established by the director of the division of workers' compensation (division) who provides treatment in the workers' compensation system to obtain level I accreditation from the division. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Current law requires the department of corrections (department) to assess a copayment for inmate-initiated visits to providers of medical, dental, mental health, and optometric care services. Current law permits a waiver or reduction of the copayment under a range of circumstances. The department's current administrative regulations assess fees when an inmate fails to attend or refuses a scheduled health-care appointment. The act eliminates the copayment and prohibits the department from assessing a fee when an inmate fails to attend or refuses a health-care appointment. The department is required to report during its 2026 "SMART Act" hearing on the number of times in the previous year that an inmate failed to attend a scheduled health-care appointment or requested an appointment when the request was not relevant to an actual medical condition. The act reduces appropriations to the department by a net of $165,682, which includes an increase of $157,179 appropriated from the general fund and a decrease of $322,861 from cash funds. VETOED by Governor 5/29/2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
For ground ambulance services (ambulance services), the act: Allows a political subdivision or an ambulance service providing ambulance services on behalf of the political subdivision to submit to the division of insurance (division) the established rates for the ambulance services, if the rates meet specified conditions; Requires the division to publish reimbursement rates on the division's public-facing website; Establishes reimbursement rates for ambulance services that are out of network; and Prohibits an out-of-network ambulance service from billing an individual covered under a health insurance coverage plan (covered person) any outstanding balance for a covered service not paid for by an insurance carrier, except for any coinsurance, deductible, or copayment amount required to be paid by the covered person. If a covered person makes a payment for an out-of-network ambulance service, the payment must be applied to the covered person's in-network deductibles and in-network out-of-pocket maximum amounts. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, $38,149 is appropriated from the division of insurance cash fund to the department of regulatory agencies for use by the division to implement the act. VETOED by Governor 5/29/2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Section 1 of the act creates the prescribed fire claims cash fund (fund) in the state treasury and requires the state treasurer to transfer $250,000 from the general fund to the fund on July 1, 2025. Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, the division of fire prevention and control (division) shall expend money from the fund to pay claims for damages related to prescribed burns that are certified by the division in accordance with new guidelines as specified in the act and as adopted by the director of the division. The division shall authorize a payment in the amount certified in a claim; except that the maximum payment that the division may authorize for a singular burn is equal to the greater of $20,000 or 10% of the amount of money in the fund at the time the claim is filed. Subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly of money for the division to administer the fund, the division shall certify a claim that meets the following guidelines: The claim demonstrates, in sufficient detail, the costs or damages that resulted from the prescribed burn; The prescribed burn that resulted in the costs or damages was conducted in full compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements for prescribed burning; Before conducting the prescribed burn, the certified prescribed burn manager registered the written prescription plan for the prescribed burn with the division and paid an administrative fee; and No more than 60 days have passed between the completion of the prescribed burn and the date upon which costs and damages were incurred. The act authorizes the director of the division to adopt rules and guidelines for the implementation and administration of the program and permits the division to contract with a third party to administer, certify, and pay the claims. The act also requires a claimant who accepts a payment that covers the full amount certified in the claim to waive all future claims related to the prescribed burn against the certified prescribed burn manager that conducted the burn; any organization, entity, or individual with whom the certified prescribed burn manager worked to conduct the burn; any individual or entity that provided funding for the burn; and any landowner on whose behalf the burn was conducted. Sections 2 and 3 expand the definition of a "certified burner" in the state to include an individual who has not completed the Colorado division's training and certification program but who meets reciprocity requirements and possesses a valid Colorado certification number. An individual seeking certification through reciprocity may receive a certification number from the division by: Applying for certification to the division, according to the rules and standards of the division, including the payment of any associated fee; and Submitting evidence to the division, according to the rules and standards of the division, that the individual holds a valid certification from a state government or other entity. The required rules and standards adopted by the director of the division, in consultation with the Colorado state forest service, pertaining to the qualification for and the terms and durations of certification, are required to include certification through reciprocity. Section 4 adds pretax costs associated with the implementation of an approved program or project to mitigate the effects of extreme weather, wildfires, climate change, or other hazards to the definition of Colorado energy impact costs. For the 2025-26 fiscal year: $250,000 is appropriated from the fund to the department of public safety for use by the division for prescribed fire claims; and $153,025 is appropriated from the general fund to the department of public safety for implementation of the act.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
The act allows enrolled members of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and enrolled members of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe to enter state parks without having to pay an entrance fee. By June 1, 2026, the division of parks and wildlife (division) in the department of natural resources (department) shall build on existing efforts to conduct outreach to and engagement with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, other tribal governments, American Indian communities, and Indigenous communities about opportunities related to state parks that are managed by the division. In January 2026 and January 2027, the department shall include, as part of its presentation during its "SMART Act" hearing, information concerning the division's outreach and engagement about opportunities related to state parks. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
